The Federal Government’s War on Black People

It isn’t paranoia if it’s true. And African Americans aren’t paranoid, there really is a War on Black People. The killing of Michael Brown and the subsequent chain of events is just one, highly visible, battle in this war. But it may, finally, lead to a convergence of Conservatives and African Americans. In the wake of this tragedy, many conservative voices are recognizing that the United States has gone too far in the militarization of local police forces in the name of the War on Terror. That military force is more likely than not to be used against the Black community, as it is in Ferguson. It is heartening to see many of the Front Page Writers at RedState taking up this cause. Even before this, it was equally heartening to see potential Presidential contenders like Paul Ryan and Rand Paul drawing attention to this issue. Any Republican who hopes to be President needs to take up this cause.

There are many other dimensions to this War on Black People. The federal government’s War on Drugs is, in reality, a war on young black men who are disproportionately imprisoned for drug offenses. The War on Coal is a war on poor black people, who are impacted disproportianately by increases in the price of fuel and electricity. The failing system of public education, loudly decried by conservatives, overwhelming harms black children, who are trapped in schools that cannot and will not educate them. The failure of the federal government to secure our borders significantly harms African Americans, particularly black youth, whose unemployment rate is more than twice the national average, as illegal immigrants take jobs, while African Americans are reduced to food stamps and government hand-outs. Federal policies perpetuate the cycle of poverty that plagues the black community. The list goes on an on.

The death of a young black man may ultimately serve some purpose, if it causes conservatives to finally make common cause with African Americans and recognize that we share common concerns and common values. Ronald Reagan said it best: “Government isn’t the solution; it’s the problem.” When the mainstream media has forgotten Michael Brown and moved onto the next sensational story, conservatives need to keep up the drumbeat for a positive agenda that addresses the real concerns of the Black community. African Americans deserve more than the Democratic Party’s effort to turn them into a permanent underclass totally dependent on the federal government. The 2016 Presidential Election may well be decided on this issue.